Churma Ladoo is a recipe for ball shaped sweet made out of crumbled Bati (unleavened bread). This authentic Churma Ladoo recipe has been further enhanced by mixing different flours, spices and nuts. Baking instead of frying and use of jaggery instead of sugar makes it even more inviting for today's health conscious families. Snack anytime, if you are feeling low on energy or to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings just serve as a dessert.
Introduction to Churma Ladoo
This recipe is a part of authentic Rajasthani 'Dal-Bati-Churma' combination. ‘Churma’ means crumbled, which in Indian cooking is used for recipes where a cooked bread is crumbled and mixed again with other ingredient and served in various forms. ‘Ladoo’ refers to ball shaped sweets commonly served in India on festive occasions. Hence, ‘Churma Ladoo’ is a recipe for ball shaped sweet made out of crumbled Bati. Bati is an unleavened bread that is hard from outside but soft from inside. It originated from the desert areas of Rajasthan.
Healthy Enhancements to Churma Ladoo Recipe
This authentic recipe has been further enhanced by mixing different flours, spices and nuts. Added ingredient such as carom seeds (Ajwain) helps in digestion, coughs and asthma, arthritic pains, acidity and cardiac health. Another ingredient, dry ginger powder (Saunth), also help in digestion, acts as anti-inflammatory, lowers blood sugar, fights flue and common cold. Nuts provide unsaturated fats, omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, vitamin E and proteins.
Overall, these ‘Churma Ladoo’ are a healthy bite size hearty snack packed with healthy fats, proteins, vitamins and mineral. You can make these once and store in dry conditions for a long time. Snack anytime, if you are feeling low on energy or to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings just serve as a dessert. Please note that 'No one can eat just one'. Once you try it, you would want to eat more.
How to make Churma Laddu?
The whole process of making Churma Laddu can be broadly divided into four steps:
Making Dough: to make churma Laddu, first we need to make a dough of whole wheat flour. To enhance the texture further, add whole wheat laddu flour, suji, a bit of besan and almond flour to whole wheat flour.
Cooking of Dough: first divide the dough into small portion known as bati or muthiya. Then either deep fry or bake these batis. I have already shared the deep-frying method, now I have updated the post with baking instructions as well.
Making Churma: crumbled the cooked batis into small pieces and further into coarse texture using food processor. Make sure the crumbled batis are at room temperature before you process them in food processor. You will get a grainy and coarse powder. That coarse grainy powder is called “churma”.Then add chopped nuts, elaichi powder, dry ginger powder, fenugreek seeds powder and sweetener to churma. If you wish also add dry rose petals for enhanced look. Churma is ready to enjoy!
Lastly, Making Churma Laddu: to make laddus, add additional ghee to the prepared churma. Ghee works as a binder to bind the churma mixture into laddus. Most delicious churma Ladoos are ready to enjoy!
Tips for Making Churma Ladoo
- For Ladoo the flour needs to be coarse (dardara) not super fine. To achieve that, add Ladoo atta you get at Indian store along with whole wheat flour . Also add a bit of suji or rava to get the right texture.
- Use very less liquid to knead the dough, dough needs to be stiff. You can use water but I personally prefer milk to use.
- Divide the dough in small portions to cook, make sure to flatten them out for even cooking.
- If Baking, bake them at 375 degree F. Every oven works little different so keep an eye while baking the batis.
- If frying, be patient while frying them. Fry them on low to medium heat for 12-15 minutes.
- Let the cooked batis or muthiyas cool down completely before you process them into churma.
- Roast the chopped nuts in ghee before adding to churma, roasted nuts enhance the flavor. You can change the quantity as per your liking, add as much or as little to your preference.
- Add sugar or jaggery powder only after churma mixture comes to room temperature.
- If you use hard jaggery then, grate it else use jaggery powder. You can also use half sugar and half jaggery if jaggery flavor is overwhelming for you.
How to store Churma Laddu?
These churma laddu have a long shelf life. Stays good for month at room temperature if stored in air tight container. To extend the life, store in refrigerator laddus will be good for another couple of months.
Note: I have updated this post with latest picture, baking process and for more enhanced experience.
What are you waiting for? Make it using the recipe below or order by clicking here.
Recipe
Churma Ladoo – Baked version with Jaggery
Ingredients
Ingredients:
Pantry
- 150 g Whole wheat flour 1 cup
- 90 g Coarse wheat flour Laddu Atta – ½ cup
- 45 g Semolina Flour Rava – ¼ cup
- 35 g Chickpea flour Besan – ¼ cup
- 30 g Almond flour or meal – ¼ cup
- 275 g Jaggery or Sugar - – 1¼ cup adjust as per the taste
- 1.25 cup Mixed nuts Almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, chironji and melon seeds – roasted and chopped
Spices:
- 1 teaspoon Dry ginger powder Saunth
- 1 teaspoon Fenugreek powder Methi Dana
- 1 teaspoon Carom seeds Ajwain
- 1 tablespoon Cardamom powder Elaichi
- ¼ teaspoon Salt Namak
Dairy
- 275 g Clarified butter Ghee – 1¼ cup - divided into 100 gram and 175 grams
- ⅝ cup Milk ½ cup + 2 tablespoon
Instructions
- Add all the dry ingredients (regular whole wheat flour, coarse wheat flour, semolina (rava), chickpeas flour, almond meal/flour and salt) to a mixing bowl and mix.
- Add ½ cup of ghee to the flour mixture and mix again, it should be crumbly in texture after mixing.
- Now add milk and knead it into a stiff dough. TIP: If using stand mixer, dough would not come together for stiff consistency, use hands to bring it together, at the end.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into small equal size balls/muthiya and flatten them a bit.
- Either deep fry or bake to cook these batis/muthiyas.
To Bake:
- Preheat the oven @ 375 degree, place all the prepared batis/muthiyas on a baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes.
- After 18 minutes check if the bottom of batis/muthiya are cooked and brown, then flip and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Once all the batis/muthiyas are nicely cooked from outside, carefully crumble them using a kitchen towel and bake for another 5 minutes. To make sure that all the batis/muthiyas are cooked well from inside as well.
- Let the cooked and crumbled batis/muthiyas cool down to room temperature.
To deep fry:
- Heat ghee in a deep pot (kadhai) for frying until medium hot or if you have thermometer then until it reaches to 350 degree F.
- Deep fry few of the batis/muthiyas at a time at medium heat until they turn golden brown. Keep flipping them during the frying process for even cooking and browning. Medium heat is important to make sure that thick bati is cooked all the inside.
- Let the fried batis/muthiyas cool down till they are easy to work with. Then break them by hand into smaller pieces.
Now follow rest of the method whether you have baked or deep fried the batis/muthiyas:
- Transfer room temperature crumbs or pieces to food processor and pulse them into a coarse texture mixture or churma and keep it aside.
- Heat 1 cup ghee in a pan and roast roughly chopped nuts, chironji, and melon seeds for 5 minutes on low heat.
- Switch off the heat then add ground churma to roasted nuts-ghee mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Now add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder, fenugreek powder and mix thoroughly.
- Let the mixture cool down to the temperature where you are comfortable to work with bare hands.
- Add jaggery powder and thoroughly mix the mixture. While mixing keep rubbing them in between palms to break any lump of jaggery powder if there is any.
- Mixer is ready to make laddu. To make laddu take a handful of portions of prepared mixture and start binding it together using fist. Once mixture start taking shape roll them between palms and keep pressing with other hand fingers to give them a perfect sphere shape.
- Prepare all the laddus following above process.
akanksha jaiman says
Love these laddoos- my rajasthani husband was taken back to his home with one bite 🙂 The taste and texture is so perfect-a little melt in your mouth treat despite all the nuts it still melts. That is magical.
We will definitely be ordering these regularly!
Sangeetha says
Hi mam,
Tried the baati, it's just irresistible and very healthy...my kids are loving it.
Will make ladoo next time....
Rupali Agarwal says
Thank you Sangeetha, glad your family enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing your experience with me!!!
Hope you equally enjoy Churma Ladoo too.
Thank you- Rupali
Sum says
The ladoos are so delicious and satisfying!!
Rupali puts in her heart and hard-work into making them and the product is so good, well- worth the cost. I would definitely be ordering again, and again...
Rupali Agarwal says
Thank you Suman, really appreciate your belief in my product and your repeat business.It was pleasure working for your and would be happy to serve you in future as well.
Thank you so much - Rupali
Payal says
What can I replace coarse flour with?
Rupali Agarwal says
Hello Payal, to replace coarse flour, divide the quantity of coarse/laddu flour half with whole wheat flour and half with suji. Coarse flour is used basically to add texture, coarseness in the laddus.
Hope this helps you.
Rupali Agarwal
Payal says
Hi Rupali I have been checking this churma ladoo recipe from so long and want to try making it but as I will be making it for the first time I am not too sure how it will pan out saying that ofcourse the ingredients list and method in your post so detailed that I can't go wrong.But for my sake I wanted to know is it possible for me to try this recipe in less quantity and how much ingredients will be needed for that?
Thanks
Payal.
Rupali Agarwal says
Hello Payal, yes you can reduce the quantities into half or one forth for small yield. I’ll try to send you an email with adjusted quantities. So that there would not be any confusion.
Cheers
Rupali
Kshama says
Hi - is there a gluten free version of bati?
Rupali Agarwal says
Kshama, you can use bajra for gluten free version and there is makka ke dhokle recipe which is not exactly baati but gluten free.
Pooja Warudkar says
These are absolutely amazing!!! Right from to look at, to smell and to taste - they were perfect! Everyone at home loved them...
Rupali Agarwal says
Thank you Pooja Dear for your review. I am so happy that you loved the Ladoos.
Deepali says
Hi Rupali and Others
As Rupali knows I recently ordered these amazing churma Laddoos directly from Rupali and May I say I am
Blown away!! They are the best churma laddoos I have had and my husband even went to the extent of saying that he doesent crave the mithai from India after tasting these! Rupali- we are going to be regular and loyal customers for these laddoos so be ready for more orders :)) Everything from receiving order through delivery was soo smooth and amazing! Your attention to detail and love for the food shows in everything Rupali, even in the way packaging came- I have never seen a prettier pack for Indian food..you are a rockstar! Wish I could give more than 5 stars!!
Neha S says
These laddoos are melt in the mouth and melt the soul kind laddoos! I had the good fortune of trying these. Thank you, Rupali!
Rupali Agarwal says
Thank you Neha for your review. I am so happy that you loved the Ladoos?
Meesha says
Awesome ladoos. Everybody in my family loved them! Perfect snack for the kids too. Loved them!!!
Rupali Agarwal says
Meesha, I am so glad that liked them. Let me know when you need your next round of ladoo, would be happy to send you?